This Messaging Fragmentation is Crazy
Full Disclosure: this is an opinionated rant. Why do I have to go to LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to send messages? Why do people insist on using these non-standard messaging systems? If people said, "Don't call me on the telephone -- I prefer the delephone," you would think they were crazy. For a while, this was a minor inconvenience, but now it is starting to get out of control.
Do What You Gotta Do
Some people won't respond to email (or take a while to respond) but reply immediately when you contact them with Twitter direct messages. Other people do the same in Facebook or FriendFeed. And yet other people send messages that pile up in your LinkedIn inbox.
Oh, and then I get the Skype pings.
And Gmail chat requests.
Oops, almost forgot FriendFeed.
This is getting out of hand. Do what you gotta do. If one of these is the only way to reach somebody I need to reach, then I'll use it. But these are too many messaging systems, and they are becoming a productivity drain.
Open Standards Always Win
Lots of people say that email sucks, that it's broken. This "e-fail" mantra is really about the inadequacy of email systems, something that many entrepreneurs recognize and are aiming to fix. The reason why email will always be with us is that it is an open standard, and this mantra is always worth repeating:
- Open standards always win
- Open standards always win
- Open standards always win
Winners and Losers from a Standards Shakeout
Twitter has possibly gotten this right once again. Because it is open, anybody can build an interface for its direct messages.
LinkedIn totally fails on this count. LinkedIn is a great and very useful research tool. When I don't know how to contact somebody, finding out which of my contacts knows them is invaluable. I use it frequently. But then, I want to be able to contact that person by email (or telephone, or Twitter if that is their preference). LinkedIn's messaging system is simply an irrelevant chore.
Methinks Facebook messaging may go the same way. Not being a big Facebook user, I may miss the point. But I have noticed that the sort of person who in the past preferred to be contacted via Facebook now prefers communication via Twitter.
The Integration Opportunity
This pain point is, of course, an opportunity. This integration has been referred to in the past as "unified messaging," but many of those solutions were too complex. You needed to buy into everything to use it at all.
Some great solutions are probably already out there. I am not talking about something like TweetDeck, which is perfect for somebody who lives in Twitter. Rather, the interesting thing is integrating Twitter direct messages into existing messaging and email systems.
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Definitely agree on the last, but not least, point : Twitter NEEDS to be integrated into "email conversation".
I had a dream a couple of days ago: I wanted to say something to a friend. I logged into my messaging HeadQuarter site. Then, clicked on his/her avatar. And then, I sent what I had to say to him/her.
I don't remember if my message were 140 char. long or more, but actually, since the Day 1 of the Messaging Integration Era, I don't care anymore about that kind of low-level technical considerations....
So true.
I have found that Digsby goes some way towards pulling all(?) these channels into one in a fairly straightforward way...www.digsby.com
Bernard, what we need (and probably will get someday) is a sort of "news stream" i.e. a combination of email, sms, twitter, chat logs, IM, facebook, etc. which can be tracked, sorted into folders, attached to projects/people, filtered and so on. Kind of personal info-center.
Preferable with selflearning "helpers"/filters to distinguish between direct communication directed to me personally (via mail, sms, twitter) and broadcasts to a wider audience (mailing lists, discussion groups, tweets not directed at me...).
I wonder how long it will take for todays email clients to catch up with such developments.
I hear ya - I hear ya. What about the conversations that start on one channel then continue in another. I was mobile phoneless recently that was bliss. Maybe there could be some imminent psychological disorder related to fragmented messaging.
Right on the button. I posted a (rather more decorous) note on the same subject last week in an attempt to put my on-line house in order: http://blog.fotolibra.com/2009/04/09/the-sites-ive-seen/
In the grand scheme of things it's the data fragmentation problem. Messaging fragmentation is the most pronounced side of it. True, communicating across multiple channels is problematic. Storing data across dozens of applications and physical locations is even worse. These are precisely the types of problems we at Relenta are aiming to solve.
You are so right. I can't keep any of them straight anymore.
What we need is something like Fire Eagle for geolocation, but for messages. Multiple ways to get messages in through API and controled environment where set up who sees what. Twitter has that one part - API with multiple input ways, but there is nearly no ways to control what goes further to facebook, friendfeed etc.
Topify is doing some of this in a great way. After setting up Topify, I still get my Twitter DMs through my email, but now I can reply to those emails and it sends the DM to that person!
I agree that it's too many channels - and that some things like Facebook don't make it easy to get information out.
I've just had a look at the two tools that have been mentioned here - Topify - which I'm not entirely sure answers the question, as it seems to be Twitter focussed; and Digsby - which does seem better, as it covers the most commonly used (by English speakers) social networks. I often use Flock as my browser, as that's got links to similar networks.
However, I think that there's still a great need to have, as implied in the post - open standards, that will allow me to use the tool I choose - and you to use the tool(s) you choose, yet us all to share data.
So, from a single point(pref website, not installed on the PC, so more portable) I can see work related information (from those that like Linkedin), I can see snippets of information (from the Twitterati) - I can see longer posts (from my blogging friends) - I can see updates from my friends who use MySpace/LiveJournal/ Orkut [that Brazilian I met on holiday] - and so on. And I can post updates that they can all see.
And they can also use the tool that they prefer to do all of this.
Absolutely agree, and nicely put. Here is a recent screencast I did where I try to show what my ideal unified inbox might look like:
lhttp://influence.forumone.com/archives/299-Messaging-meets-the-Cloud.htm
I completely agree that the fragmentation of conversation is making things difficult. Not only for hyper-connected people like us, but also for everyone else. How many times do we start a conversation on one channel and move to another depending on the situation and the immediacy of the content. It's particularly difficult to search/recover a conversation or a specific message.
To address this exact issue is the fundamental motivation behind Silentale. Although the service is not yet publicly available, we're looking forward to seeing if our approach resolves this pain.
Thanks for all who commented. Some interesting leads to follow-up on.
This is not a rant at all (except perhaps in its understandable expressions of frustration). You nail a few very important points that I have been "rant"ing about to my friends for a while: (a) email is not dead, and is in fact better than most solutions because it is based on open standards. (b) Further, it is the standard mechanism of non-real-time Internet messging. If Facebook wants to have messaging, then they should either send the messages to an external mail host (where your mail sits) or provide (at the least) an IMAP service. I won't hold my breath.
So in fact what the world needs is a sort of Google Voice for all these DM's, e-mails and status updates. As you have mentioned correctly, closed standards won't work. But I think there lays an opportunity for a good start-up that provides me with one alias (be it e-mail or a stand alone app) to push all other forms of communication that I've signed up for.
Shouldn't be that hard, no? But then again, I can't write a single line of code.
Another vote for Digsby.
Easily handles Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, most of the IM networks plus multiple email sources.
I see Digsby come up a lot, but it still looks like it is in Alpha test mode and has been in development a while which would make me a bit nervous of committing much time to it. Anybody with hands-on experience?
The game-changer is probably XMPP. This is like SMTP for email. OK, that is a very non-techie POV, I am just saying "an interoperability standard" and one with some momentum from what I can see.
Also, given the momentum behind Skype, that IM client needs to be part of the picture.
A map of the IM clients by their openness/adoption of XMPP would be interesting.
Checked out Topify and think it looks exactly right for Twitter to email integration. That is only one service but it is a biggie.
Then I noticed that we already covered it on ReadWriteWeb (Phil Glockner in March). Golden rule - always research on RWW!
Topify illustrates the points:
- simplicity wins. It is totally simple to understand what they offer. I have registered for the Beta.
- open wins. That is why Twitter scores once again. The fact that they let a third party like Topify do this is smart.
- integration in the real world is around the email client.
API access =/= open standard.
For example, email isn't 'owned', but Twitter is. Email is a true open standard, that anyone can setup and operate without going through a central hub.
I understand. I am adapting Social Media strategically and carefully into my life, and it's easy to get overwhelmed or have to deal with old bad habits. This, however, gets to almost ridiculous levels as people spend so much time juggling social media technologies it's practically a hobby (or a second job).
Great idea! Ooooh I know! Let's create an standard based on simple messages where people could even form rooms around hashtags and server operators might even set up their own independent destinations. We can call this new protocol "Internet Relay Chat". Thanks Twitter!
XMPP is the way to go.
We already have a service that routes your XMPP messages from services that support XMPP (FriendFeed, identi.ca etc) and Twitter, we also archive them for you. Google 'Cleartext XMPP'.
Bernard, I wrote a HUGE review of Digsby (wow, over a year ago now!) on my personal blog:
http://www.scribkin.com/2008/04/25/tell-me-about-digsby/
I'm sure much has changed with Digsby since last year, but perhaps you'll find the review useful.
Why are these sites taking over? Seriously people, just use Outlook! Outlook Track-It is a plug-in for it that will actually remind you to follow up to emails. Yes - a followup reminder actually exists as an addon. It's amazing. Twitter is way different, more complicated to deal with.
Digsby is great if you want an all in one application whereby you can do instant messaging, get email notifications and live newsfeed of your social networking account. Think twitter gmail msn facebook myspace etc all in one.
I've wrote about message fragmentation a couple of times myself. I have a friend who will message me the same thing on Facebook, MySpace, and and 3 other social networks at roughly the same time. Then has the great idea to call me and say "Did you get my messages". It drives me batty.
IMHO, Email is still around after all these 'social networking' advances because it just works. For me, I like my messages in a place I control, can search, backup, and manipulate the data the way I need to. With Facebook, MySpace, etc you have to login to the site to even get your messages then you have to worry about their deletion policies.
Really how hard would it be for MySpace and Facebook to enabled you to reply directly to a message notification email? It wouldn't be too hard but they want the page views.
As for IM, I use Digsy to pull in all my IM accounts. It's easy, fast, and with no ads in my face.
Bacarli, it's funny you mention Outlook Track-It. I've had it for 3 weeks and it really does improve Outlook - makes it more like social networking. I'm getting followup email reminders, finally, and can remember to reply to associates. Good recommend.
The question is, how do you open up communication channels without opening the floodgates?
Knowledgable (and famous) people will always get far more requests for communication than they can deal with. LinkedIn connections are one form of "endorsement" (oh, she knows so-and-so, I guess I'll listen) but they're far from complete.
I've made lots of very useful connections through Twitter who were outside my 3rd-degree LinkedIn network.
In an ideal world, I'd be able to set filters so that I accepted all communications from [X industry / X position / in my LinkedIn network / connected to someone I've responded to on Twitter] or other similar "qualifiers".
Yes, message fragmentation. As long as I can choose my messages to be delievered to my email account, all these social networking sites are great. But whoever expects me to log in to dozens of different websites in order to check if someone wanted to contact me is nuts.
I can't really imagine a situation that my clients insist on contacting via facebook, linkedin, plaxo etc. Email will always win (along with a old-fashioned telephone and mail)
I guess what we all are looking for is this great tool to manage all your profiles and direct messages to one place (while be able to reply to them through the same one email accunt.. or more whenever it is required). Maybe it is already there? Would be extremely happy to see a Mozilla Thunderbird extension for that.
It is not only messaging fragmentation but also service/feature fragmentation. Look at mobile phones, first was email ,then extra facebook, now twitter support. Where will this end?
I am having actually a different problem, still quite related to this subject. Because of all these websites where you need to register and sometimes have also another email account I have too many mailboxes and far too many messages coming from all those sites. This all becomes overwhelming and I tend to delete many messages without reading although these are not necessarily spam.
Totally agree with Sean on the open standards front - the solution must pertain to all platforms and not be a centralized "owned" service a la twitter.
Mark